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Curb Appeal

I miss the HGTV show ‘Curb Appeal’. It was typically so good and so helpful for viewers to see what could be done to their homes to make them more appealing. I often drive by houses and have the urge to go knock on their door to tell them what I think they should do with their house. Andy has never let me actually do this, which is probably for the best. However, curb appeal is one of my favorite parts about flipping homes. When it came to selecting the before and after photos for this blog post, I went throught the 40+ flips I’ve done over the last few years and there were a lot of good options, but the best curb appeal transformation by far… Is our house.

It’s crazy to think that just a year and a half ago, we purchased the worst home I’ve ever seen and decided to call it “our home” – The front yard was all dirt and known as a litter box to all the feral cats in the neighborhood. It was built in 1930’s and the only attempt at any insulation for the house was the addition of the vinyl siding. The roofing had clearly seen better days and the windows weren’t operational. BUT… Believe it or not, the curb appeal was probably the best thing the house had going for it compared to the interior or the backyard (So many more blogs to come about the ‘horrors’ we encountered)… Yay! Remodeling!

But despite it all, today it is totally worth all the headaches and ‘horrors’ we went through because we love our home. We replaced the roof and decided to go with black so that if we ever want solar panels in the back, they’ll blend in with the shingles. We painted all the trim white and exposed the truss tails on the front for visual interest. We replaced all the windows and did new stucco around the entire exterior… We decided on gray because as we ripped off the ugly white vinyl, we found the original siding under it. I took a sample to Lowes and color matched it so the house is close to the same color it was back in the good ol’ days. We kept the front door but painted it black to compliment the roof and had Freddie build custom black shutters for our front window! The idea of landscaping the front yard was slightly overwelming to us and in Arizona… It’s important to be water conscious. Therefore, I designed a large front courtyard that runs the entire width of our house and framed it out with a rock garden featuring desert friendly plants (They’re huge now). Along the sidewalk (Which thankfully the City of Phoenix replaced for us) we did astroturf! It requires zero maintence, zero water, and always looks great (We highly recommend it!).

The result of all these changes… Our front yard is no longer a litter box and our neighbors love us. BUT it’s also very rewarding to come home each day and apprecaite the curb appeal we created for our home!

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flippingdiaries

Welcome to the flippingdiaries; a BEFORE & AFTER blog showcasing projects here in Phoenix, Arizona where we are buying houses, remodeling them from top to bottom and turning them into beautiful homes. I've done over 40 flips in the last four years, and I've got more on the way! We get some rockin’ deals, find quirky ways to use materials, and are passionate about what we do. I hope this blog inspires you whether you’re interested in flipping yourself, or just getting some creative design ideas that you can enjoy in your own home.
I’ll start by introducing myself – mrjamesjudge.
Let’s go back a few years… I went to school for Interior Architecture at the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities. During this time I was fortunate enough to intern with both Jonathan Adler and HGTV. After graduating, I decided I was done with the cold and headed west. After a few wrong turns along the way (literally…) I made my way to Phoenix, AZ. I didn’t exactly plan to become a flipper, but finding myself in a terrible job market due to the economy and landing in one of the worst cities to be affected by the housing crisis… All my cards fell into place. With the help of my contractor; Freddie and his crew, we have been able to develop these simple or forgotten properties into beautiful homes.
What’s next? This blog… A lot more flips… And hopefully someday a TV show!
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